Firefighters' funerals planned in New York

Fog shrouds the buildings of lower Manhattan as workers feverishly sift rubble at the World Trade Center site.

NEW YORK (CNN) --As a morning fog slowly burns off, crews continue work in Manhattan on Saturday, unearthing debris in their tenacious search for victims at the site of the World Trade Center's destruction.

A string of memorials is planned around the city, on the 11th day since the terrorist assaults on New York and Washington.

The funerals for five New York firefighters killed in the terrorist attacks are planned for Saturday.

An annual parade normally attended by dozens of firefighters and police officers has been canceled in favor of a memorial for the victims at St. Patrick's Cathedral on Fifth Avenue.

Conducted by Cardinal Edward Egan, the morning Mass is a replacement for the German-American Steuben Parade, which had been scheduled for later in the day.

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"To tell you the truth, ignorance is bliss." John Kneeley, CEO of Martin Progressive,
says not knowing the gravity of what had happened to the north tower of the World Trade Center helped him and his colleagues escape the building.

Mourners are to lay a wreath at nearby Engine Company 8 to remember the firefighters who are among the 6,333 people said by New York's mayor, Rudy Giuliani, to be missing in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks.

Giuliani says the number of bodies recovered is 252, of which 183 have been identified.

Rev. Al Sharpton, the civil rights activist, plans a blood drive Saturday in Harlem for victims of the World Trade Center attacks. His spokeswoman says they hope at least "a few hundred people" will donate blood.

City officials continue to distribute tickets for the Sunday afternoon memorial at Yankee Stadium,. It's being designed for victims' family members, colleagues and rescue workers. The service is to be broadcast live to large ballpark screens in Coney Island and Staten Island at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, rain or shine.